Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
